10 Modern Coloring Books That Aren’t Just for Kids

Who says you have to be a kid to love a good coloring book? Not us, that’s for sure! When we read about Outside the Lines, the latest cool coloring book on the art scene, we knew it was time to round up a whole bunch of modern coloring books for folks who can’t resist a good set of markers filling in a whole bunch of lines.

1. Outside the Lines ($14): As we mentioned, this brand new coloring book is in the inspiration for today’s colorful roundup. It’s a striking collection of illustrations from 100 animators, cartoonists, fine artists, graphic artists, musicians, and more. Artists include Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Gary Baseman, and more.

2. Roy Lichtenstein Coloring Book ($8): The comic book style pop art of Lichtenstein is so iconic. We love the idea of creating our own takes on these poppy pieces.

3. Graffiti Art Coloring Book ($9): Not quite ready to take a can of spray paint to the wall of your apartment building? Perfect your graffiti skills by coloring in the designs of well-known taggers from all over the world.

4. Colour Me Good Ryan Gosling ($10): We’ve written about this before, and I bet we’ll write about it again. It’s a coloring book filled with illustrations of your boy and ours, RyGos! Hey girl, wouldn’t this flannel button-down look better colored in? ;)

5. Thrill Murray ($30): Another one we’ve swooned over before, this includes awesome illustrations of Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, Ghostbusters, Moonrise Kingdom and more. Just the existence of this sort of screams Wes Anderson, don’t you think?

6. Let’s Paint the ’90s! ($12): We need to order this book like… yesterday! Color in Vanilla Ice, the Olsen Twins, Dennis Rodman, and other favorites from the ’90s. We might need to follow this up with our own ’90s ode…

7. Advanced Style The Coloring Book ($8): Love sartorial street style? Then you’ll love this book, filled with connect-the-dots and coloring pages that just scream style.

8. Indie Rock Coloring Book ($8): Find all the birds in Devendra Banhart’s beard! That and more hilariously hipster games and coloring pages featuring the Shins, Rilo Kiley, the National, and more. Best of all, royalties go to charity so you can feel good about growing that mustache, brewing your own root beer, and riding a fixie even though you live in a city with a million hills.

9. Gangsta Rap Coloring Book ($8): With so much drama in the L-B-C, it’s kinda hard bein’ Snoop D-O-double-G! But it is not at all hard to color him in ;)

10. A Coloring Book by Mike Perry and YOU ($9): Lastly, a gorgeously illustrated modern coloring book by graphic artist Mike Perry. We love the title, because what’s a coloring book without the colorer?

Would you buy any of these coloring books? Or give them as a gift? What other ways do you channel your grade-school-style creativity? Talk to us in the comments below.

As Chief Creative Officer and Founding Partner at Brit + Co, Anjelika Temple brings her voracious consumption of all things creative and colorful to DIY projects, geeky gadgetry finds and more. When she's not DIY-ing her heart out, you'll find her throwing dinner parties with friends or adventuring with her husband David, their daughter Anokhi, and their silly dog Turkey.